Related Stories

By all accounts, David Rounthwaite is a highly respected lawyer and all-around nice guy.

He’s the new interim CEO of the troubled eHealth agency. And he’s Premier Kathleen Wynne’s brother-in-law.

Don’t get me wrong.

I’m sure he’s a top-notch corporate guy.

I just can’t believe in the whole of this great city that eHealth couldn’t find someone who wasn’t related to the premier to run the agency.

Rounthwaite is the brother of Wynne’s wife, Jane Rounthwaite.

The Liberals argue that he was general counsel to eHealth for four years prior to becoming CEO March 7. He won’t be getting an increase to his $210,000 a year salary. And the appointment was by an unanimous vote of the board.

OK, where to start?

Four years ago, Wynne may not have been premier but she was a senior member of Dalton McGuinty’s cabinet.

Was it appropriate to hire him as general counsel back then?

The other problem I have is why we’re hiring a lawyer to run what is essentially a data management company?

Why aren’t we hiring someone with a degree in computer engineering or some other technical background?

Governments of all political stripes have demonstrated over again that they simply cannot manage big IT projects.

Why?

My suspicion is they put the wrong people in the wrong jobs — and they get bamboozled.

So no one on the eHealth board said, “Hold on, guys. Let’s just step back and take a look at the optics of this”?

What kind of judgment do they have? Is it any wonder we still don’t have our medical records online when these people seem to live in a self-congratulatory bubble?

Health Minister Deb Matthews seemed miffed when I raised that issue.

“If you’re arguing that any relative of any member in government ought not work for the broader public sector, I just can’t agree with that,” she said.

“The board unanimously decided David Rounthwaite was the right person to take on this interim role and the fact that he is the brother-in-law of the premier had no bearing on that.”

So not one person on that board understood that an agency that has been previously plagued with mismanagement and botched projects needs to be above reproach.

It’s not the first time Wynne’s been accused of cronyism.

She recently appointed her former cabinet colleague and leadership rival Sandra Pupatello to chair Hydro One. Pupatello’s getting $150,000 for a part-time gig.

Wynne’s close confidante and a former member of her transition team Monique Smith landed a plum appointment as the province’s representative in Washington, D.C., for a salary of $250,000 a year. Wynne’s numerous “advisory panels” have been stacked with her buddies.

Another troubling aspect in this is that neither the Tories nor the NDP raised the issue in question period.

Which makes you wonder — have the Liberals lowered the accountability bar so far that no one cares?

No one asks any questions because, one suspects, they know they’d be hiring their own buddies if they become government.

The late-breaking news in this three-ring circus Tuesday is that Wynne has issued a statement of claim in her libel suit against PC Leader Tim Hudak and his energy critic Lisa MacLeod asking for $2 million in damages. That news broke just as Finance Minister Charles Sousa announced the May 1 budget date. Why so much news at one time?

Because cabinet secretary Peter Wallace was testifying at the gas plants committee.

Anything — and I mean anything — to distract attention from the mess this province is in.

Bad optics placing premier's brother-in-law at eHealth helm

By all accounts, David Rounthwaite is a highly respected lawyer and all-around nice guy.

He’s the new interim CEO of the troubled eHealth agency. And he’s Premier Kathleen Wynne’s brother-in-law.

Don’t get me wrong.

I’m sure he’s a top-notch corporate guy.

I just can’t believe in the whole of this great city that eHealth couldn’t find someone who wasn’t related to the premier to run the agency.

Rounthwaite is the brother of Wynne’s wife, Jane Rounthwaite.

The Liberals argue that he was general counsel to eHealth for four years prior to becoming CEO March 7. He won’t be getting an increase to his $210,000 a year salary. And the appointment was by an unanimous vote of the board.